作者：大妮子

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　　本课您将学到：wonder, rank, contrary to句型

　　Cairo, the cradle(摇篮) of civilization(文明)，the Melting Pot of Ancient and Modern Egyptian Civilizations. It is the largest city in the Middle East and lies at the center of all routes(路线) leading to and from the three continents(大陆): Asia, Africa and Europe. It is the city where past and present meet. On its west side lies the Ancient Egyptian city of Memphis, and the site of the Pyramids, the only wonder surviving of the Seven Wonders of the World. Indeed, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time...

　　开罗，文明的摇篮，埃及古老文明和现代文明的大熔炉。作为中东地区最大的城市，它是亚洲、非洲和欧洲的交通枢纽。过去和现在在这里交汇碰撞。在它的西部，坐落着埃及古城孟斐斯和世界七大奇迹中唯一现存至今的--金字塔。实际上，穿越开罗的旅行是一次能穿越时空的经历。

　　The most famous of Cairo's sights(风景) is the string(一线) of 60 pyramids that stretches(延伸) along the western border(边缘) of the desert. Contrary to the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu, not all three Great Pyramids, is on the list of Wonders. The monument(遗址) was built by the Egyptian pharaoh(法老) Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year BC 2560 to serve as a tomb(墓地) when he dies. When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m high. Over the years, it lost 10 m off its top. It ranked(排列) as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries.

　　开罗最著名的景观是沿沙漠西部的边缘而排列的60座金字塔。和人们的普遍想法相反，并不是三座大金字塔，而是只有胡夫的大金字塔才被列入到世界奇迹中。这座金字塔是埃及第四王朝的法老胡夫大约在公元前2560年建造的，作为他死后的墓地。大金字塔在建成时的高度是145.75米。但随着岁月的流逝，它的高度已经降低了10米。世界最高建筑物的桂冠在它头上戴了有四千三百年之久。

　　【世博读书笔记】

　　1.wonder可以做名词，常见用法如下。

　　(1)表示“惊异”，如：

　　There was a look of wonder in his eyes.

　　他眼中露出惊奇的神色。

　　(2)指“让人觉得惊奇的事物”，即“奇迹”，世界七大奇迹就是the Seven Wonders of the World，简称Wonders。再来看一个例句：

　　It is a wonder that he remained alive after dropping from the roof of a ten-storied building.

　　他从一幢十层楼房子的屋顶上摔下来,但仍然活着,真是奇迹。

　　*友情提示：

　　这里的It’s a wonder that句型，是口语中表达惊奇之感时经常使用的，如：

　　It's a wonder you recognized me.

　　难得你还认得我。

　　(It's) no wonder 也很常见，意思是“难怪”，如：

　　No wonder he is not hungry; he has been eating sweets all day.

　　难怪他不饿，他整天在吃糖果。

　　2.rank做名词，有“军衔”的意思，那么联想一下军队里等级森严的特点，也就不难理解rank作为动词的这些意思了。

　　(1)表示“把……排列”，如：

　　There were several pairs of riding boots ranked neatly in the hall.

　　客厅里整齐的排列着几双马靴。

　　(2)表示“把……分等”，如：

　　She ranked her students according to their grades.

　　她按成绩排列学生的名次。

　　(3)表示“等级高于”，如：

　　A major ranks a captain.

　　少校军阶高于上尉。

　　【世博句型留言板】

　　contrary to

　　与……相反

　　Contrary to our expectation, he emerged from the traffic accident intact.

　　与我们的预期相反，他完好无损地在事故现场出现了。

　　What you are doing now is contrary to the doctor's advice.

　　你正在做与医嘱相反的事。

　　练习：

　　1.和流行的想法(popular belief)相反，沙漠也可以是个美丽的地方。

　　2.结果与期望相反.

　　练习答案：

　　1.Contrary to popular belief the desert can be a beautiful place.

　　2.The result was contrary to expectation.